Delivering the infrastructure behind Ireland’s energy transition

Since 2008, Galway-based Entrust Services has supported developers and state bodies through the planning and environmental process for some of Ireland’s most complex renewable energy and grid infrastructure projects.

Three recent commissions illustrate the breadth of that work, and the scale of what is needed to progress Ireland’s renewable energy, grid, and heat infrastructure from proposal to consent.

In Galway, Entrust provided planning, environmental, and technical consultancy for the Galway City East Energy Centre and Heat Network, a low-carbon scheme designed to decarbonise heating for public, commercial, and community buildings across eastern Galway city.

The project includes a new energy centre, integrating air source heat pumps, electric boilers, and rooftop solar PV, with an underground district heat network along Doughiska Road, delivering major heat infrastructure within an urban environment which demanded careful coordination across heritage, ecology, visual amenity, and a phased construction strategy, while making use of a disused brownfield site.

At Blackhall in County Meath, Entrust acted as lead planning, environmental and technical consultant and project manager for two planning applications: a 205.2-hectare solar farm and a strategic infrastructure development application for a 220kV loop-in substation and battery energy storage system.

The project required extensive ecological surveys, including habitat mitigation for seven red-listed bird species, alongside archaeological investigation and proactive engagement with statutory consultees.

Despite 35 objections and 11 third-party appeals, Entrust’s technical evidence and stakeholder engagement secured approval for both applications, including a successful first party conditional appeal which challenged to preserve 16.5MW of generating capacity within a designated flood zone area.
On Great Island, County Wexford, Entrust was the planning and environmental consultancy for three battery energy storage and grid connectivity projects. Proximity to strategic infrastructure and the coastline meant coordinating specialist assessments across ecology, archaeology, flood risk, and landscape, while securing agreement from EirGrid, Iarnród Éireann, and ESB Networks for an underground grid connection crossing existing high-voltage cables, a gas pipeline, and a strategic watermain.

Collectively, these projects reflect the same core capability: integrating planning expertise, environmental assessment, technical expertise, and multidisciplinary coordination to deliver strategic energy infrastructure, while protecting the local communities, heritage, and ecological landscape around them.

T: +353 (0)91342511
E: contact@entrust-services.com